Czarny wąwóz

Vladimír Körner approached writing his scripts with a deep knowledge of history and he managed to combine the requirement for an exciting story with an escalating plot and historical accuracy. At the same time, there is always an added value to be found there. In this case, it is clear what he wanted to remind and warn about. The student who once, in a moment of weakness, signed a collaboration with the secret police of the Austro-Hungarian Empire recalls the fate of those who, under similar pressure, signed a collaboration with the State Security. The protagonist of the story gradually loses everything, including the love of his loved ones and his own self-respect, only to find a small satisfaction in the form of vengeance against the state power that abused him. However, as a Prussian military commander says, no one likes a traitor, and so Olaf Lubaszenko, the student, cannot escape the bitterness of his end. I appreciate quality historical stories and here, I think, they managed to depict the era of the second half of the 19th century quite well and also show that espionage did not begin in the 20th century and even in the past it could be dangerous and its actors could play complex games. Perhaps only the co-production format is a bit unfortunate and I could also imagine a better performance by the main character played by Lubaszenko. His lackluster performance surprised me a bit, as I know him to be an excellent actor... However, Petr Čepek was traditionally reliable in his acting and his officer was repulsive. Overall impression: 70%. (25.05.2014)